Matt Blake is manager of the American Littoral Society’s Delaware Bay program in New Jersey. A local authority on New Jersey’s natural resources, particularly its coastal regions, Blake and his office in Bridgeton have for years been involved in nearly every piece of state and local legislation concerning environmental issues.

Q: We’re now more than two months after the torrential flooding of the Aug. 14 storm and Hurricane Irene. How is the area holding up? Any lasting damage?

A: I think the lasting damage around here is going to be in the pockets of the communities, to some extent. We’re getting federal aid from FEMA, but there’s still an amount of money the local governments are going to have to come up with.

The recovery is happening, but popular recreation areas have still not yet come back, such as Sunset Lake.

I think the storms were a wake-up call for how we plan our coastal zones. I’m a resident of Greenwich Township (Cumberland County), and we’re concerned about this week’s “king tide,” which could affect the whole town. It’s a real coastal hazard.

We’re going to have to look at whole wetlands restoration — just brimming up one road at a time is not going to cut it.

Q: What is your position on legislation proposed in Trenton that would make it easier for solar panel fields to be established on preserved farmland?

A: The problem is that lobbyists are having a lot of influence on legislators, enabling companies to get around state and local scrutiny on solar projects.

When you make solar field an “inherently beneficial” use of farmland, you make it hard to protect that farmland — and wilderness resources — from projects that good planning and good common sense would prevent.

There’s nothing wrong with solar fields themselves, but you have to be careful with preserved areas.

For example, there is a proposal to put ten 100-meter wind turbines in the area of Supawna Wildlife Refuge in Pennsville, which protects one of the largest rookeries north of Florida.

These turbines can be killing machines to birds as well as bats, and we’ve spent millions to protect this area.

It’s a slippery slope, and it’s one of the areas where I think the state Department of Environmental Protection has dropped the ball.

Q: What was your reaction to the recent survey regarding air pollution in South Jersey and across the country? What about pollution that comes into New Jersey from other states?

A: Are you kidding? New Jersey is the fourth most polluted state in the country in terms of air quality, and the Bridgeton-Millville-Vineland metropolitan zone was eighth worst in air pollution, that survey said.

As someone whose child has a chronic lung disease, I’m still waiting for industry to catch up to the Clean Air Act.

As far as pollution from other states, the majority of the dirt in the air can be traced to coal plants in the Midwest.

You know, when you have politicians making these kinds of decisions on the environment and air quality, and not scientists who have our back — it’s something that ticks me off not only as a member of an organization, but as a parent and a resident here, and also as a fisherman. We have regular advisories here in New Jersey about not eating fish we catch in our lakes because of the mercury.

Q: Global climate change, or global warming, is something that’s going to affect people all over the world. What’s your understanding of how it would affect the Delaware coast?

A: Well, yeah, scientists are saying there’s going to be a three-foot rise in water levels over the next century, with some estimates saying that’s going to actually be on the 20- to 50-year horizon.

What I think is that we can expect more serious storms, more erratic and intense weather. We’re going to be seeing 100-year storms every 20 years instead, and 500-year storms every 100 years.

It’s going to mean harder decisions on how to defend and repair our communities in the danger areas.

And it’s not just about cleaning up industry; it’s going to be also about creating a culture of adaptive resiliency. Are we going to have our infrastructure and zoning laws encourage people to live and build in vulnerable areas? The financial cost alone may force some hands there.

Q: Changing course, what are your favorite outdoor destinations when you’re not working?

A: My favorite is actually the Four Corners region in the American southwest — Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. I really enjoy visiting the Native American ruins there.

Locally, I like to swim, so I like the Cohansey River and the Delaware Bay. I also enjoy crabbing there.

But my absolute favorite is the Dix Fish and Wildlife Management Area. The dirt trails, with the tree canopy overhead, with the autumn colors — it’s quiet solitude, and is just untouched nature.